Comments on: PA HB 363: If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Ban ‘em!

By: Colette Decker

Colette Decker — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:33:27 +0000

I don’t feel that cell phones should be banned, I feel they are safety links between home and the student. If you are working with our students, you should be willing to have your actions recorded. I know as a staff member of the school systems we are watched everyday. I have also been taught that if I know what I am doing is correct and morally responseable then I shouldn’t have any problem with whatever is being recorded. I was also told not to write anything down that I didn’t want someone else to read. So the recording and our actions should follow the same thought. Don’t do or say anything you don’t want to be held against you, also noting comments on facepages from teachers. I feel though that the pencil problem is a bigger issue and something should be done with these sharp little minature arrows allowed out on our childrens buses. These are more harmful than any phone could ever be!!!

By: Sign of the Times? « Thumann Resources

Sign of the Times? « Thumann Resources — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:56:55 +0000

[...] went and checked out House Bill #363. I read through Dan Callahan’s post on the topic, Damian Bariexca’s sample letter and when I read Chris Lehmann’s post I realized that this Bill, if passed, is [...]

By: Banning Knowledge Devices « EDITing in the Dark

Banning Knowledge Devices « EDITing in the Dark — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:25:06 +0000

[...] notice the comment about paper above and notice the comment on the pencil below (from Apace of Change): The responsible use of technology in education is, however, an issue about which I am passionate, [...]

By: damian

damian — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:44:16 +0000

I agree that the potential for misuse is serious, but there are far more reasonable measures you can put into place to address that stuff. I’m not advocating a “Wild West”, anything goes a/v free-for-all, just some common sense. When my students weren’t using their cell phones for a specific purpose (which amounted to a very small percentage of time, in my case), they were to be put away. That also went for anything that wasn’t relevant to what we were doing, including calculators, social studies homework, physics textbooks, and college applications (I taught English). That seems more like a classroom management or responsible use issue to me than anything else.

I live in PA, but don’t work here, so I can’t speak to your last question. In NJ, some schools do have confiscation policies (my previous school did, for example), but I don’t know what the law says about inspecting devices for content in either state. Anyone?

By: jsb16

jsb16 — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:29:01 +0000

Do you think being stabbed in the neck with a pencil was more traumatic than having your reaction recorded and posted to YouTube would have been?

I’m not saying that this bill would make a good law. It seems like hitting a a gnat with a steam shovel. But the potential for students to misuse video and audio recording technology is serious. Are schools in PA explicitly allowed to confiscate and inspect all such devices if there’s evidence of misuse under current law?

By: geek.teacher » Blog Archive » Bad, evil, naughty law!

geek.teacher » Blog Archive » Bad, evil, naughty law! — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:54:42 +0000

[...] 2: Jim Gates, Steve Dembo, and Damian Bariexca also have their [...]